Monday, May 10, 2010

Susan Beth Pfeffer. THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN

This is a sequel that brings the characters from LIFE AS WE KNEW IT and THE DEAD & THE GONE together. It continues the story of the catastrophic events after the moon was knocked closer into orbit around the earth. It's been a year since the event, and Miranda and her family have settled into a routine of sorts. Miranda and her brothers scavenge the houses around them for whatever they can use. Food it still delivered weekly, although still only enough for two small meals a day. There really isn't much left of the town they live in. There are virtually no people left.

Then Miranda is surprised by her father, his wife, their baby daughter and three strangers. (One of the strangers is Alex from DEAD & the GONE). Miranda has mixed emotions. It was difficult enough with the four of them alone, but with six more people, how will they manage? On the other hand, she's also thrilled to see her father again. Plus, the baby brings hope of survival. However, just when things are beginning to look up, another tragedy strikes the town, which calls for some heavy decision-making about their future.

I loved the first two novels in this world, so I was thrilled that the author decided to write another. I was eager to see how Miranda and her family continued on after such devastating events. Not to mention, the inclusion of Alex was awesome!

This was action packed, suspenseful and sad. The author does such a wonderful job of creating the mood for this "end of the world" type atmosphere. In all three books, I was so enthralled. And frankly, I'm still not satisfied with the ending. I don't mean this in a negative way at all. I'm just not ready to give these characters up! I still want more. I want to go to more places with the characters to see how the rest of the world is handling everything. Is that asking too much?